Should we teach children about the origin of man? The evolution of the high-school biology program in Israel

With more than 18,000 students graduating yearly, Biology is the largest high school exam (5-points Bagrut) in Israel. The current education program in high-school biology was designed more than 15 years ago, and although it has been updated several times, it requires serious amendments. In the past two years, the Biology committee of the ministry of education, has been working on a new program in high-school biology. The process included interviewing numerous scientists from all Israeli universities and all biological disciplines, as well as discussion with many highly experienced teachers and with science education scientists. Many debates arose some of which include: (1) Which topics should the program cover and which can be removed? (2) How much math should there be in the program? (3) Should we teach new cutting-edge research methodologies that might be obsolete in a few years? and (4) What should be the role of memorizing in the program vs. the role of comprehending the underlying mechanisms of biological processes. The result of these two years is a frame-work for the new program. The next steps include an assembly of specific sub-committees that will write the detailed plan for each of the program’s chapters. In my talk, I will discuss the process of developing an education program, I will explain some of the considerations and debates we faced, and will highlight the reasons behind the decisions, all aiming to improve the high-school biology program in Israel starting in 2020.